Saturday, September 10, Thessaloniki

With election season just around the corner and the energy crisis impacting households around the country, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced an economic aid package worth €5.5 billion at the 86th Thessaloniki International Exhibition, an annual trade fair event hosted in Greece’s second largest city.

During the much anticipated and televised event, he also announced an eminent price increase for the massively popular Greek Golden Visa program. The minimum required investment amount for residential property in Athens and Thessaloniki is set to double – from €250K to €500K – with a view to reduce demand in the sub-€250K market segment.

The same new rule will apply to properties located on Santorini and Mykonos, two of the country’s most popular islands.

The Greek government hopes that this move will increase the available stock of lower-priced homes, thus making property ownership more accessible for local Greek buyers.

As things stand as of this writing, the Greek Golden Visa program has been one of the world’s top-selling residency by investment programs, and with good reason.

Benefits offered by Greece’s Golden Visa program

– The lowest property price point of any European Golden Visa – €250K, vs €280K in Portugal, and without the applicable restrictions (age, location, area density, etc).

– No minimum in-country stay requirements (compared with 7 days per year in Portugal)

– An exceptionally fast application process – 3-4 months, vs 12-18 months or more in Portugal.

While the move may bring some respite for Greeks seeking to step onto the property ladder, it will almost certainly also lead to a reduction in the amount of foreign direct investment secured via the program.

The exact date for the pricing increase has not been confirmed, however according to our legal suppliers in Athens, who attended the minister’s speech, the deadline will be on April 30th.

In order to still qualify for the €250K option, you’d therefore need to put a deposit down on a property by April 30th, 2023, and complete the transaction, including transfer of the property, by December 31st, 2023.

Last chance to get a Greek Golden Visa in Athens or Thessaloniki at €250K

If getting a Greek Plan B in place is on your to-do list, NOW is the time to take fast, decisive action.

To request a discovery call with a Greek Golden Visa expert today, contact us now.

We will monitor this breaking news story closely, and update this article as and when new official information becomes available. 

(NOTE: If you won’t be ready to start your Golden Visa application in Greece in time to beat the price increase, the new Portuguese Cultural Golden Visa, priced at only €200,000 may be a viable option to consider – although this route does not involve a property purchase.)

UPDATE: Monday, September 12: While official communications on the topic are presently still limited, the latest feedback from our legal team on the ground is that the Greek PM last night confirmed that the price increase will only apply to properties situated in the centers of Athens and Thessaloniki and in Santorini and Mykonos. 

This move would align the Greek Golden Visa’s location exclusions with that of the Portuguese program, starting from January 2023. (The Portuguese program no longer allows residential property purchases in Porto and Lisbon.) 

So beat the April 2023 increase…

CONTACT THE GREEK GOLDEN VISA EXPERTS TODAY.